July 02, 2016

CSAA Helps in Restoration

2016 is the 8th year the Country School Association has provided Grant Funding for Preservation work on some of America’s early schoolhouses. We had seven requests this year and our Association gave three grants of $1000 for preservation efforts. Our memberships provide this funding so thank you to all for this support.

I want to thank my CSAA Preservation Grant committee members for their time on evaluating the applications. Members of our committee are Sue Grosboll, Myrna Grove, and Catharin Lewis. They are a great team to work with.

This year’s grant recipients include:

Locust Grove School is a circa 1865 school west of Philadelphia in the Town of Pocopson, Pennsylvania close to the Chadd’s Ford/Brandywine region. The building was in very poor condition when purchased by the Township in 2004. The Pocopson Township Historical Commission immediately began renovations and funding efforts.

The school is in an area rich with Revolutionary War and Underground Railroad history. They have developed curriculum and collected artifacts for expanded programming. They now are anxious to get interior renovations completed, especially the floors.

Root School is a 1937 Schoolhouse in Norwich, Vermont built to replace one which had burned the year before. The building immediately was designated a Vermont “Superior” school and received its Superior plaque in 1939. In 1945 it was closed when enrollment fell to 4 pupils.

Since 1952 the school building has been maintained as a community center by the Root District Game Club, a small organization of area families. Due to a deteriorating foundation, the building had to be closed for public use in 2011. Presently the group is pursuing fund raising efforts to repair the foundation and once again have the building open for public use. In 2013 Root School was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Clara Barton School in Bordentown, New Jersey is a wonderful brick building with a raised teacher’s platform to the right hand corner by the entry door. Clara Barton created an innovative program and taught here in 1852-54. The building was restored in the 1920’s. They will use their grant for preservation of the original window muntins, rails and stiles. Note: This was one of the schoolhouses on our tour day at the 2011 conference in New Jersey.

P.J. Hartenaus: My Sometimes Pal - The Belden SeriesFifth grade teacher P.J. Hartenaus enjoys bringing history to life with tales that her students can relate to in the present. While exploring the unglaciated area of Galena, Illinois, Hartenaus came upon a deserted one-room schoolhouse called Belden. That discovery led her to find journals from the 1800s, artifacts, and 166 tales of a time long ago as told by the elderly students who once attended Belden School.
Today, the story lives through Peter McDugal, the young hero of the Belden Boy Series.

SCHOOLHOUSE RESOURCES

One-Room Schoolhouse CenterThe One-Room Schoolhouse Center website was created in 1998 as a way to provide an online resource for those interested in learning more about early education in the United States. The history and reminiscences from those who taught and attended one-room schoolhouses are prevalent throughout the site.